As they followed Aaramis--the others seemingly content with the stressful silence that followed--Sia slowly grew more and more uncomfortable. Her skin pricked, uneasiness to the back with Ilias, before her discomfort won out. She mentally swore, pushed down her hood, and picked up her pace to draw even with Aaramis.

"Did...did you have a place in mind?" she ventured.

After all, the man hadn't paused once since abandoning the other group behind him. Rather, he'd kept to his quick paced, long strides; they'd already passed the edge of town as a result. At her question, he shot her an expression that clearly asked where she thought he was going if he didn't.

"...we saw tracks on our way in."

"Oh."

Another silence.

"...have you been to this area before?"

The expression she received as a result questioned why she felt the need to talk. She almost backed down, biting the inside of her cheek to hold the emotion from her face.

"I have."

"Oh."

Mentally, Sia slapped her head into her hand. Was that all she could say?

"... to fight the lizardmen?" she asked. "I thought it was a private contract."

He ignored her, eyes following Gideon. During the walk, the bard had been quietly studying their path, the sun, and everything around them--no doubt keeping track of their location. Which was likely why he was the first to notice something important. His eyes seemed caught on something just off the path, lips pursed. Seeming to feel their attention, he glanced over, fingers drumming against his thigh.

"We might have a problem."

Sia stepped up alongside Aaramis to study what she now recognized to be tracks. There were a few dozen species of lizardmen in the valley, so she didn't find it odd that the overlapping prints were each slightly different from the other. What was strange was the depth and size. Her memories of the valley were hazy, but she knew the creatures were usually lanky in build--not bulky as the implied weight would indicate.

Aaramis grunted. "You might, perhaps. This is within expectations for us."

Irritation sparked under her skin. "How so?" .

How was it that the djinn justified being so hostile? Their reputation amongst other guilds might have labeled them as oddballs, outcasts, and the like, but that didn't justify this. A vague memory of the last article she'd seen the mage in flickered through the back of her mind. Stoic, brooding, and brusque. That's how it described him.

Gods, next time she saw a reporter she had half a mind to set them straight.

He ignored her, eyes trailing the tracks to where they slipped into the thick undergrowth. "These are fresh. They won't be far."

How did he know that? They were tracks in dry dirt.

Gideon frowned, but didn't argue. Sia reminded herself about his request that they be civil. He tapped the back of Ilias' hand, ignored the surprised squeak, and gestured at the hollow of the red-head's throat. Seeming to catch on. Ilias reached for the talismans that hung over his collar.

"You're going to want someone with ranged attacks," Gideon instructed quietly--no doubt the tone was intended to keep from startling Ilias further. "Valda or Yrlissa, depending on their circumstances for today."

Ilias nodded, passing his fingers reverently over the bird talisman. Some of her irritation faded at the familiar sight. He'd be summing Valda, then, his eagle familiar. She'd always thought Ilias' magic was interesting. Rather than fight himself, he called celestial beasts into the mortal plane, borrowing their magic through a contract only the warlock himself knew the details of.

Gideon looked to Aaramis. "You've got a plan, I assume? If you're so well-informed."

Sia couldn't help the snort that escaped her. The bard had such a polite way of calling people out, she likely wouldn't have noticed how irritated he was if she hadn't been familiar with him.

Aaramis glanced over his shoulder at the question, legs already halfway buried in the undergrowth. His expression made it clear he hadn't intended on explaining himself. He opened his mouth--no doubt to say the same--before pausing, his eyes catching on Ilias' hand.

"Summoning magic?" he asked, interest lacing his voice.

Gideon sighed. His palm caught Ilias between the shoulder blades, before he pushed the fainthearted warlock forward. Ilias had the look of a panicked deer as his eyes darted between Aaramis, Gideon, and back. His hand clenched the talisman tighter, as if that could hide it from view.

"Ah, y-yeah, I use summoning magic?"

And there it was--Ilias habit of making even truthful statements sound like unconfident questions.

Silence fell as Aaramis simply studied him. Sia wanted to punch him for no other reason than the way Ilias shied back from the critical expression.

"Does it matter?" Gideon asked, raising a brow. "Ilias is just as capable as the rest of us. So, does it matter what form his magic takes?"

"No," Aaramis replied dismissively. His fell away as he turned back to the tracks and shoved undergrowth aside with his foot. "Was simply surprised. Summoning is useful, just not common."

That said, he started forward, without waiting for any response. Sia suppressed a groan as she plunged into the foliage behind him, shooting Gideon an expression that clearly said, 'you chose this.' He hadn't. She could have followed Cross. But, the look made her feel better.

The unwise urge to pick a fight with the mage sparked in her chest.

"You never answered him," she pointed out. "Your plan?"

"Don't need one."

"What?"

He glanced at another track, changing their direction. "Lizardmen, corrupt or not, are simple prey for someone of my skill."

She stared, incredulous, as he strode forward once again. What part of that was she even supposed to question first? His ego?

Corruption?

"What do you mean, corrupt?" Gideon asked, his mild tone echoing her shock.

Unbidden, her mind summoned memories of the temple. Of midnight-cloaked priests being shoved behind iron bars as they screamed. Of black fingernails. Sleeves dragged back to show hidden, bulging veins. Bloody weapons.

Sheet-covered corpses.

"Corrupt," Aaramis repeated with a mocking snort. "As in..corrupt. Does the term usually mean anything else?"

Sia once again resisted the urge to strike out. Just once was all she needed. One little tap to knock the arrogance out.

"You don't have to be so rude," she pointed out. "It was a reasonable question."

Aaramis pointedly looked back to the undergrowth. "If you believe so."

She did.

There was no reason for others to suspect corruption in the valley. If she had considered it, Sia might have suspected, but even she--with all her personal knowledge--would have struggled to be certain. Corruption tended to linger around mad or corrupted gods. Those born from dark beliefs. While the resulting infection--capable of driving a monster, or even mortal, mad--had been growing in prevalence in recent years, given that Aether's main temple laid deep within the valley, no one would suspect corruption of being able to take root in such a place.

It could, though, because there was no divinity to be found there anymore.

Her hands twisted into her cloak alongside the sensation of a thick sludge of guilt entering her gut.

The temples were empty.

"Do your friends know about this?" Gideon pressed as her mind spun.

Gods, what if something happened to the others? What if one of them was bit? Cross could handle himself, but what about Oren? Who was his last copy...Hawthorne? Fear kindled alongside the guilt. What if he had grabbed someone else? What if he got infected?

"They know," the djinn stated. His eyes skimmed the trail again, before he paused. His head titled as if listening to something imperceptible by the rest of them. "We came here with the same purpose, after all."

"To exterminate corruption?" Sia questioned, suppressing her fear. She would just have to trust that he was okay. Aaramis' companions didn't seem weak. "Isn't that a job for priests?"

It wasn't as if adventurers weren't hired to weed out corruption. They were. But, it was usually a well-paid, high-ranking job. Just a suspicion of it could turn a C-Rank job into an A, as the monsters crept up to alongside the same scale. Not something just anybody would seek to take without reason. The risk of infection just wasn't worth the payday. Especially if there wasn't a cleric in your party. Had she missed one amongst his teammates?

Aaramis, of course, ignored her questions. He stiffened, before his shoulders went back and his hand slipped into the empty air before them.

"They're coming."